University of Wisconsin–Madison, Department of Economics

Economics 742: Topics in Public Economics

*      Feldstein, Martin, “The Transformation of Public Economics Research: 1970-2000,” JPubE, December, 2002, 319-326

II. Optimal Taxation and Evasion

*      Auerbach, Alan J. and James R. Hines, “Taxation and Economic Efficiency,” Handbook of Public Economics, Vol. 3, 1347-1421

*      Slemrod, Joel and Shlomo Yitzhaki, “Tax Avoidance, Evasion, and Administration,” Handbook of Public Economics, Vol. 3, 1423-1470

*      Parry, Ian W. H. and Kenneth A. Small, “Does Britain or the United States Have the Right Gasoline Tax?” American Economic Review, September, 2005, 1276-1289

III. Tax Rates and Taxable Income

**    Feldstein, Martin, "The Effect of Marginal Tax Rates on Taxable Income: A Panel Study of the 1986 Tax Reform," JPE, June 1995, 551-572

**    Goolsbee, Austan, “What Happens When You Tax the Rich? Evidence From Executive Compensation,” JPE, April 2000, 352-78

*      Gruber, Jonathan and Emmanuel Saez, “The Elasticity of Taxable Income: Evidence and Implications,” JPubE, April 2002

*      Emmanuel Saez and Michael R. Veall, “The Evolution of High Incomes in Northern America: Lessons from Canadian Evidence,” AER, June 2005, 95(3), 831-849

IV. Taxation and Saving, and Tax Incentives to Promote Household Saving

**    Venti, Steve and David Wise, "Have IRAs Increased U.S. Saving? Evidence from Consumer Expenditure Surveys," QJE, 1990, pp. 661-698

**    Gale, William G. and John Karl Scholz, "IRAs and Household Saving," AER, December, 1994, 1233-1260

*      Madrian, Bridget and D. Shea, “The Power of Suggestion: Inertia in 401(k) Participation and Saving Behavior,” QJE, 116, November 2001, 1149-1187

*      Bernheim, B. Douglas, “Taxation and Saving,” Handbook of Public Economics, volume 3. 1173-1249

V. Are Americans Preparing Adequately for Retirement?

**    Bernheim, B. Douglas, Jonathan Skinner and Steven Weinberg, “What Accounts for the Variation in Retirement Wealth Among U.S. Households?” AER, 91 (2001), 832-857

**    Scholz, John Karl, Ananth Seshadri, and Surachai Khitatrkun, “Are Americans Saving ‘Optimally’ for Retirement?” mimeo, 2005, forthcoming JPE

*      Gale, William G. And Karen M. Pence, “Are Successive Generations Getting Wealthier, and If So, Why?” BPEA, 2006(1), 155-234

VI. Taxation and Individual Financial Behavior

**    Poterba, James, “Taxation, Risk-Taking, and Household Portfolio Behavior,” Handbook of Public Economics, volume 3. 1110-1171

*      Burman, Leonard and William Randolph, "Measuring Permanent Responses to Capital Gains Tax Changes in Panel Data," American Economic Review, September, 1994

VII. The Corporate Income Tax, Capital Structure and Other Aspects of Financial Policy

*      Chetty, Raj and Emmanuel Saez, “Dividend Taxes and Corporate Behavior: Evidence from the 2003 Dividend Tax Cut,” QJE, August 2005, 70(3), 791-833

*      Auerbach, Alan J., “Taxation and Corporate Financial Policy,” Handbook of Public Economics, volume 3. 1251-1292

VIII. The Earned Income Tax Credit: Taxes and Labor Supply at Low Incomes

**    Hotz, V. Joseph, Charles H. Mullin and John Karl Scholz, 2005, “The Earned Income Tax Credit and Labor Market Participation of Families on Welfare,” mimeo, UCLA and University of Wisconsin – Madison

**    Meyer, Bruce D. and Dan T. Rosenbaum, 2001, “Welfare, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Labor Supply of Single Mothers,” QJE, CXVI(3), August, 1063-1114

IX. Income Transfer Programs

*      Fang, Hanming and Michael P. Keane, “Assessing the Impact of Welfare Reform on Single Mothers,” BPEA, 2004(1), 1-116

*      Blank, Rebecca, “Evaluating Welfare Reform in the U.S.,” JEL, December 2002, 1105-1166

X. Social Security and Social Insurance

*      Feldstein, Martin, “Rethinking Social Insurance,” AER, March 2005, 1-24

*      Orszag, Peter, and Joseph Stiglitz, “Rethinking Pension Reform: Ten Myths About Social Security Systems,” mimeo, September 1999

*      Autor, David and Mark G. Duggan, “The Rise in Disability Recipiency and the Decline in Unemployment,” QJE, 2003

XI. Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations

*      Gordon, Nora, “Do Federal Grants Boost School Spending? Evidence from Title I,” Journal of Public Economics, 88, 2004, 1771-1792

*      Knight, Brian, “Endogenous Federal Grants and Crowd-Out of State Government Spending: Theory and Evidence from the Federal Highway Program,” AER, 92, 2002, 71-92

*      Black, Sandra, “Do Better Schools Matter? Parental Valuation of Elementary Education,” QJE, May, 1999